Babcock International Group today announced it will establish its Australasian headquarters in Adelaide with the relocation of its Mission Critical Services and Offshore Services businesses to South Australia as part of the company’s aggressive regional growth strategy.

Babcock’s aviation businesses, Babcock Mission Critical Services Australasia and Babcock Offshore Services Australasia, will formally become part of an existing Adelaide based management team at a new site in the Adelaide Central Business District under an agreement with the Government of South Australia.

Babcock is a global engineering support services company incorporating assets and expertise across industries including defence, nuclear, telecommunications, transport, emergency services, minerals and energy and education industries. It operates in 16 countries and employs more than 35,000 people with annual revenues of $AUS 8billion. In Australia and New Zealand, Babcock operates in nearly every state and territory – and today employs over 700 staff.

Babcock Australasia Chief Executive Officer Craig Lockhart said the new headquarters would bring together disparate parts of the company’s regional business and was a key step in its strategic growth plan for the next decade.

“South Australia was the logical choice for our new Australasian headquarters, and the Babcock Mission Critical Services base, because it expands our existing presence here and centralises our helicopter operations in Australia.”

The Government of South Australia will draw on a $2.5 million grant from its Economic Investment Fund and Investment Attraction South Australia on the understanding Babcock will reinvest the funds into the State through the purchase of local goods and services, including premises fit outs, recruitment, IT, consulting, training and induction.

Mr Lockhart said building a strategic base in Adelaide would open the way for significant employment opportunities for South Australians.

“We can see that there’s a great pool of talent in South Australia, particularly in engineering, and there are promising synergies with the significant and growing defence industry,” he said.

“We appreciate the support of the State Government and Investment Attraction South Australia in helping us to consolidate and expand our operations in Adelaide.”